Emergency Management

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CARES Act

The North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office (NCPRO) is administering approximately $4 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds allocated to North Carolina. Among these funds is the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF). The General Assembly appropriated $300 million in CRF funding to assist counties and municipalities with COVID-19 expenses. More information is available on the NCPRO website. Questions may be sent to NCPRO at NCPRO@osbm.nc.gov.

County and municipal CRF allocations are available on the NCPRO website here.

S.L. 2020-80 requires counties to allocate 25% of the county's CRF funding to municipalities within the county. The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, in collaboration with the Local Government Commission and the School of Government, has developed a sample interlocal agreement which counties may consider using in allocating CRF funds to municipalities. The sample interlocal agreement is linked below in downloadable Word format. Counties should consult with their attorneys in reviewing and modifying the sample interlocal agreement.

Sample CRF Interlocal Agreement

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FEMA REIMBURSEMENT: FEMA PUBLIC ASSISTANCE APPLICANT BRIEFING AND ONLINE TUTORIALS

Applicant Briefing Webinar (On-Demand): All North Carolina local governments and certain nonprofits are eligible to apply to the FEMA Public Assistance Program for FEMA reimbursement to assist with emergency expenses related to responding to COVID-19. NCEM and the SOG have produced an on-demand applicant briefing that gives instructions on how to register for FEMA reimbursement, information on general reimbursement eligibility of COVID-19 expenses, tips on documenting expenses, and COVID-19 federal procurement requirements. A link to the on-demand applicant briefing, presentation slides, and a summary of the FEMA Public Assistance program is below. For questions, email the NCEM Public Assistance Hotline at PAHotline@ncem.org.

COVID-19 Public Assistance Applicant Briefing (on-demand webinar)
COVID-19 Public Assistance Applicant Briefing Presentation Slides
COVID-19 FEMA Public Assistance Program Summary

Online Tutorials (click here): NCEM and the School of Government have partnered to produce a series of online tutorials that provide helpful information about the FEMA reimbursement process and FEMA Grants Portal. The tutorial series is available at this link. The Tutorial Series will be expanded as local governments and eligible nonprofits work through COVID-19 recovery. A summary of the tutorials is listed below.

NCEM Public Assistance Tutorial Series

FEMA Grants Portal Registration: As part of the FEMA reimbursment process, all eligible applicants (public entities and eligible non-profits) must register in the FEMA Grants Portal and submit a Request for Public Assistance (RPA). NCEM has provided the following information to assist eligible applicants with registering in the grants portal and submitting a RPA:

NCEM - FEMA Public Assistance Grants Portal Applicant Registration Process - one page

NCEM - FEMA Grants Portal Registration and RPA process presentation

EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND RELATED GUIDANCE

In response to COVID-19, Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on March 10, 2020. Executive orders and related guidance are listed below.

Executive Order 116 Declaring A State Of Emergency for COVID-19 (March 10, 2020)
Executive Order 117 Imposing Restrictions on Mass Gatherings and Closing Public Schools (March 14, 2020)

Frequently Asked Questions for EO117 about mass gatherings restrictions (issued March 17, 2020)

Executive Order 118 Restricting In-Person Dining in Restaurants and Bars and Granting Unemployment Insurance Flexibility (March 17, 2020)

Frequently Asked Questions for EO118 about restaurant and bar restrictions (March 19, 2020)
Order of Abatement of Imminent Hazard (Secretary of NCDHHS, March 17, 2020)
NC Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission compliance guidance for EO118 (March 17, 2020)

Executive Order 119 Facilitating Critical Motor Vehicle Operations and Waiving Regulations to Expand Child Care and Support Local Health Departments (March 20, 2020)
Executive Order 120 Further Restricting Mass Gatherings, Imposing Restrictions on Certain Venues, and Extending Public Schools Closing Date (March 23, 2020)

EO120 Law Enforcement Partners Guidance Letter (March 26, 2020)

Executive Order 121 Ordering Statewide Stay-at-Home Restrictions (March 27, 2020)

Frequently Asked Questions for EO121 about Stay-at-Home (March 27, 2020)
EO121 Law Enforcement Partners Guidance Letter (March 31, 2020)
EO121 Additional Guidance on Essential Governmental Operations (April 3, 2020)

Executive Order 122 Facilitating State Surplus Property Transfers (March 30, 2020)
Executive Order 124 Utilites, Telecommunications, Evictions, and Financial Services (March 31, 2020)
Executive Order 129 Flexibility for Law Enforcement and Detention Officers Training Programs (April 7, 2020)
Executive Order 130 Health and Human Services Needs (April 8, 2020)

EO130 Guidance (April 8, 2020)

Executive Order 131 Retail-Long Term Care-Unemployment Insurance (April 9, 2020)

EO131 Guidance (April 9, 2020)

Executive Order 134 Unemployment Insurance Flexibility for Furloughs (April 20, 2020)
Executive Order 135 Extending Stay-At-Home and Other Restrictions (April 23, 2020)
Executive Order 138 Phase One (May 5, 2020)

EO138 Frequently Asked Questions (May 5, 2020)
EO138 Summary Chart (May 5, 2020)

Executive Order 141 Phase Two (May 20, 2020)

Guidance for various businesses and activities under Phase 2 (May 20, 2020)
EO141 Updated FAQs (May 20, 2020; updated May 22, 2020)
EO141 Guidance on Bars (May 22, 2020)
DHHS Order of Abatement of Imminent Hazards (May 22, 2020)
ABC Commission Guidance for Restaurants and Bars (May 24, 2020)
ABC Commission Temporary Extension of Premises Guidelines (May 24, 2020)

Executive Order 142 Extending Utility Shut Off Prohibition and Temporary Eviction Moratorium (May 30, 2020)

EO142 FAQs (May 30, 2020)
Chief Justice Order Extending Stay on Pending Evictions (May 30, 2020)

Executive Order 147 Extending Phase II and Requiring Face Coverings (June 24, 2020)

EO147 FAQs (June 24, 2020)
NCDHHS Guidance on Face Coverings (June 24, 2020)

Executive Order 151 Extending Phase II (July 16, 2020)

Chief Justice Order Requiring Face Coverings in Court Facilities (July 16, 2020)

Executive Order 153 Restricting Late-Night Alcohol Sales (July 28, 2020)

EO153 FAQs (July 28, 2020)

ASSISTANCE FOR BUSINESSES

The Small Business Development and Technology Center (SBTDC) administers SBA disaster assistance programs, and is available to help small businesses apply for emergency loans and offer business counseling. SBTDC's Procurement Technical Assistance Center (NC PTAC) can help businesses understand how to participate in disaster recovery efforts as a government contractor. For more information, see SBTDC's COVID-19 small business resource site and NC PTAC's weekly free webinar on federal disaster contracting.

SBTDC SBA Emergency Loan Overview - COVID-19
NC SBA EIDL Request (sent March 13, 2020) (SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Assistance is triggered under a SBA disaster declaration)
SBA Disaster Declaration (issued March 19, 2020) (declaration announcement includes information on applying for SBA assistance)
SBA Fact Sheet on Disaster Assistance

FEMA GUIDANCE

For general information on FEMA's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, see FEMA's COVID-19 Response website. For specific information on FEMA reimbursement and procurement requirements, see below.

REIMBURSEMENT

Pursuant to President Donald Trump's state of emergency declaration issued March 13, 2020, state agencies, local governments, and non-profits are eligible for reimbursement under the Robert T. Stafford Act for eligible costs of COVID-19 related emergency protective measures. Reimbursement will be made under Category B of the FEMA Public Assistance Program. FEMA has advised that it will not require local governments to issue local state of emergency declarations to be eligible for FEMA reimbursement.

Contact NCEM's Public Assistance Hotline for questions and assistance: pahotline@ncem.org or 919-825-2548.

PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS

For information on Uniform Guidance/FEMA and state procurement requirements, see the School of Government's COVID-19 Procurement resource site.

BEST PRACTICES - PROCUREMENT COMPLIANCE AND EXPENSE TRACKING

Local governments in North Carolina have experience with disasters. See below for suggested best practices and sample documents to guide compliance with FEMA procurement requirements and documenting expenses for FEMA reimursement.

DISASTER OVERTIME PAY PERSONNEL POLICY

To be eligible for FEMA reimbursement for overtime/hazard duty pay, specific personnel policy requirements must be satistfied. See this guide sheet prepared by the School of Government on personnel policy requirements for disaster overtime compensation under FEMA reimbursement requirements Personnel Policy Disaster Overtime Pay Sample Provision.pdf

LOCAL STATE OF EMERGENCY

Counties and cities have authority under the North Carolina Emergency Management Act to declare a state of emergency within their jurisdictions in response to an occurrence or imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life or property resulting from a variety of natural and man-made incidents, including public health incidents such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. When a local state of emergency is declared, a county or city may impose emergency restrictions or prohibitions deemed necessary to protect public health and safety. These restrictions and prohibitions must be included in the jurisdiction's local ordinance as provided for under state law. Only the county or city official authorized by local ordinance to declare a local state of emergency may do so; county health directors are not authorized under state law to declare a public health emergency or enforce emergency restrictions and prohibitions that fall outside of the health director's existing statutory authority (such as ordering quarantine or isolation, or enforcing communicable disease control measures). A local state of emergency is not required to enforce a restriction or prohibition imposed by the Governor under a gubernatorial state of emergency declaration. Counties and cities may impose local restrictions and prohibitions that are more restrictive than those imposed by the Governor, but cannot impose restrictions that conflict with or attempt to override gubernatorial restrictions. A local state of emergency applies only within the jurisdiction that issued it. For more information about local state of emergency declarations and emergency restrictions and prohibitions, see the blog posts listed in the next section.

Below are template state of emergency declarations in editable Word format. Counties and cities should consult with their local emergency managers and attorneys in issuing declarations and imposing restrictions and prohibitions to ensure compliance with local ordinances and state law.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BLOG POSTS

The blog posts listed below are also available on the SOG Coates' Canons Local Government Law Blog. For other COVID-19 related blogs, see the main menu of the SOG COVID-19 resource site.